


Like a saturated Sunrise

by kagseyamas



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AUs, Drabbles, KyouHaba Week, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-13
Updated: 2015-09-15
Packaged: 2018-04-20 11:16:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4785359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kagseyamas/pseuds/kagseyamas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of oneshots as my contribution to KyouHaba week!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Smile

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1—Smile
> 
> Rating: G
> 
> Summary: The first time Kyoutani is reason for Yahaba's smile, and the first time Yahaba is the reason for Kyoutani's.
> 
> Notes: This is pretty short in comparison to the other oneshots I have prepared so it's probably a little disappointing for a first day. I'll do my best to do better!

 

Kyoutani had seen Yahaba smile, sure. Like the gentle smile he'd given when Kindaichi first came to him for advice. The proud yet still humble grin he'd worn when Oikawa officially handed over his captainship. The awkward snort-laugh that only came to visit on training camps when it was 2am and they were all too excited and adrenaline-pumped to sleep.

Yahaba's smile and Yahaba's laugh were two things Kyoutani felt were engraved into his memory. He was so vibrant, so many expressions for so many different occasions, but it seemed that only two were reserved for Kyoutani:

Anger and irritation.

He didn't know what it was about himself that set Yahaba off so often. Even in second year, before he'd even become a regular Yahaba looked down his nose at him, as if Kyoutani was just a lowly cockroach he'd be better off just stepping on.

As time went on, these expressions melted into less-hardened ones, but never shifted into anything different altogether. They grew and they bonded and Yahaba learned to toss for him because they were the setter and the ace, the unstoppable Seijou duo. Kyoutani's feelings decided to be dicks and start doing their own thing without his permission. They had a habit of doing that.

Anyway, it wasn't like he had a personal goal of being the one to make Yahaba smile for once, except he sort of did, though he didn't want to. Kyoutani wasn't the type to tell a joke or develop a witty humour like Watari. He found himself slightly jealous of the libero whenever he watched Yahaba's expression crack into a grin because of him. His pride wouldn't ever let him admit it, though.

 

"I'm gonna need you to go over the quicks with the first years." The grip on Kyoutani's shoulder left as soon as it was there as Yahaba began to pass by him, turning around and walking backwards to make sure he'd received the message. "Got it?"

Kyoutani felt slightly like disobeying, simply because it was an order, however his usual hunger for riling Yahaba up simply just wasn't there today. Come to think of it, it hadn't been there for a while now.

Instead of answering he just gave a curt nod and stalked over to the group of first years, who seemed to cower at the sight of him. It wasn't a pleasant experience, trying to talk to people who were clearly afraid of you, especially when they had no reason to be. If he was more of a pansy his feelings would be hurt about it. At least in the beginning Yahaba had had the guts to _confront_ him, rather than avoid him like the others had aaaaand he was back to thinking about Yahaba again. He really needed to stop doing that.

After practise when everyone had finished getting changed and was now exiting the gym, Yahaba grabbed him by the arm just as he was leaving the locker rooms.

"I need to talk to you for a second." he said, voice not giving away his true intentions, which was making Kyoutani slightly nervous. He was probably in trouble again, considering he hadn't done especially good in the past day or so. Well. He'd given the last of his beef jerky to a stray dog on the way home from practise yesterday, but he was pretty sure no one had been around to witness that so it didn't count.

Yahaba waited for Kindaichi and Kunimi to pass between them out through the door, calling goodbyes before he spoke.

"I just wanted to say thanks."

Kyoutani didn't understand. Yahaba looked nervous, almost.

"For like. Cooperating. And stuff."

Kyoutani wasn't sure what was really happening right now but it was making him feel uneasy and he wanted it to stop. Yahaba must have noticed his confused expression because he rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Look, I appreciate how much you're helping out with the first years and everything, especially because you could easily just...I don't know, walk away or something. It's been a big help."

Yahaba bit his lip, just like he did when he was nervous or anticipating something, just like Kyoutani noticed he did every single time because he was a goddamn sap with no sense of self control. It wasn't like he necessarily _wanted_ to cause Yahaba any extra grief, or anything. He wasn't that much of a douchebag. If anything, he wanted the opposite. Or something dumb like that.

He shrugged, giving an air of nonchalance. "Well I mean. Amn't I supposed to follow the captains orders?"

Yahaba seemed surprised, in the least. His lips parted and his eyes widened just a fraction. Then a magical thing happened.

He smiled.

It wasn't tight-lipped or tense or trying-to-be-patient-but-I-want-to-kill-you like anything he'd sent Kyoutani's way before. His eyes crinkled and his lips stretched all the way out and he had fucking _dimples_ , and honestly, Kyoutani was feeling slightly victimised right now.

"Obviously." Yahaba brushed by him then, back into the locker room, leaving Kyoutani in a daze in the doorway.

 

They became more accustomed to each other after that. Kyoutani noticed Yahaba's expressions warming up to him over time, noticed that things like anger and irritation were replaced with the determined grin after they score in a point together in a match, the small smirk he wore when he said something slightly cheekier than usual before slipping out of the club room, the times a gentle smile tugged at the corner of his lips, completely unaware that it was even there and yet Kyoutani noticed every single one, every single glance and flush of the cheeks and every pull of his mouth.

Kyoutani had never been that observant, but now he might as well have been Sherlock fucking Holmes because he couldn't _stop_ noticing and that was his goddamn _problem_.

The first time Yahaba saw _Kyoutani_ smile, it was after their first kiss, wobbly and overwhelmed and unsure of everything he was feeling. It wasn't conscious, it was just kind of _there_ , and Yahaba seemed as breathless as he was. They sat there on Kyoutani's bed just staring at each other, Kyoutani trying not to grin like and idiot and Yahaba actually doing so as he rested their foreheads together. The simple action rendered Kyoutani breathless and he hated with a passion how the other boy had so much power over him. But he didn't really.

"You hardly look like yourself when you smile." Yahaba murmured, amusement lacing his voice. "It's an improvement."

"Oi!" Kyoutani barked as he sat upright, but the unspoken threat sounded empty and they both knew it. Yahaba watched him with fond eyes and raised eyebrows.

"Besides." Kyoutani huffed, crossing his arms and trying to sound serious. "You look ugly when you smile."

"Hey!" was the responding cry, not really offended but instead followed by muffled laughter because then Kyoutani was kissing him again, not really sure how to quell the static feeling coursing through his veins, his limbs feeling both heavy and light at the same time. This would take some getting used to.

Yahaba grinned against his mouth.


	2. Jealousy (NSFW)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2—Jealousy
> 
> Rating: E  
> Summary: Yahaba is sex worker with whom Kyoutani is kind of in love with wink wonk

 

Nipping roughly on his neck, Yahaba's voice was low and husky, breath hot against his ear as he spoke.

"The usual then?"

Kyoutani gulped and nodded, gazing up as the escort pressed two hands to his chest, roughly shoving him down and pinning him to the mattress.

"Why don't you be a good boy then so you can get your treat sooner?"

Kyoutani bared his teeth in a snarl at the cockiness of the other man but obeyed nonetheless, keeping still on the bed as Yahaba sat up into a straddle, rolling his hips onto Kyoutani's erection and smirking down at the way his whole body shivered at the pressure.

It was never supposed to turn out like this; hiring Yahaba for the night for the first time had been an awfully made, drunken decision on a lonely night after pay day. He didn't expect himself to want to keep making the same awful decision, but Yahaba had dazzled him on the first night they spent together, and the rest was history. He was pretty, and spoke intelligently, and from the few conversations they'd had in the past (not counting dirty talk), he was actually pretty funny. Not to mention he was an outstanding fuck.

But Kyoutani wasn't fooling himself. He knew Yahaba only kept showing up because he was paying him to, that Yahaba wouldn't want to spend any actual time voluntarily with a 25 year old vet who had been single since high school and had to pay to get some action (no matter how much he argued with himself that it wasn't his fault people found him so scary and intimidating).

Yahaba crawled back up to his ear, breathing hot and heavy.

"Good. Do you want me to suck your dick?"

A soundless keen escaped his mouth as he nodded his head. Yahaba always had almost no gag reflex, and he could never help thinking about t when it came to getting off himself.

Perhaps he had a slight problem.

Yahaba gave him a sultry smile, crawling back down until his face was hovering right over the bulge in Kyoutani's boxers. Kyoutani had expressed in the past how he didn't like to be teased, and so Yahaba got always straight to it, pulling the boxers down in one go and taking him into his mouth without hesitation.

Kyoutani's hand gripped the bed sheet tight and his other hand found Yahaba's hair as his mouth sunk all the way down to the base, nose brushing his stomach. Yahaba made a small noise of appreciation, or maybe it was in accomplishment but either way the hum sent vibrations all throughout Kyoutani's body and pulled a quiet unwilling moan out of him.

He didn't really feel as embarrassed as he would have before; Yahaba had seen him in some pretty messy situations by now, and it went both ways.

Yahaba pulled off with a pop once Kyoutani's thighs began to quiver, wiping his mouth and grinning like the devil himself.

Hopping off of him and padding across the floor to where his jeans lay discarded, Yahaba rummaged through his pockets to pull out two condom packets. Then he invited himself into Kyoutani's bathroom, already completely familiar with his apartment by now, and returned a few seconds later armed with a bottle of half-used lube.

He grinned cheekily and wiggled the bottle at Kyoutani as well as wiggling his eyebrows, and Kyoutani just rolled his eyes as Yahaba climbed back on top of him, pressing wet kisses to his neck and the underside of his jaw.

It never took too long for him to prepare himself. Yahaba was a pro so he was pretty used to being stretched out by foreign fingers (something Kyoutani didn't really enjoy thinking about). He was a good multitasker, which meant that often Kyoutani got so caught up in his hot breath and soft moans and the feeling of hot skin against skin, that he sometimes didn't even notice that Yahaba had begun fingering himself until he was sliding a condom onto Kyoutani's dick, ready to go.

This was one of those times.

"How do you wanna do it this time?" came the purr into his left ear once they were both fully prepared. "Do you want me to ride you, or do you want to flip me over and fuck me into the mattress?"

It took Kyoutani approximately 0.4 seconds to grip him by the hips and roll them both over. Yahaba made a winded yet pleasant noise as he was flipped around so that he was on his hands and knees on the bed. He pressed the head of his cock to the previously-stretched hole waiting for the go-ahead.

"C'mon already." Yahaba's voice was strained, and Kyoutani braced himself before slowly pushing in until he reached the base of his dick.

Yahaba's entire body at the fullness of it, and after a few moments he began to push himself back onto it, urging Kyoutani to go ahead and move.

And well. Kyoutani moved.

He wasn't the type to restrain and create a build up, he was the type to get stuck right in there, pounding so fast and hard that the whole bed shook and Yahaba began to make noises like small moans and whispers. Kyoutani knew he loved it, being fucked so hard his stomach quivered and he couldn't walk the straight the next day. There was something so genuine and real about the escort that Kyoutani loved. That was why he kept coming back for more.

"Good boy." Yahaba said breathlessly , head hanging as Kyoutani moved at a steady, solid pace.

"Always so good, Kyou, know how to do it so well—" he was cut off my his own sharp gasp as Kyoutani gripped his hair.

The whole apartment block probably knew what was going on what with all the commotion they were making, and yet they didn't care, both caught up in the moment. Things got heavier and hotter and sweatier, and Kyoutani's hands founds themselves roaming over Yahaba's chest and stomach, and then to give a tight tug on his own dripping cock.

He felt a shudder run through the man underneath him, saw the way his thighs quivered as Kyoutani began to jerk him off with the same ongoing rhythm as his thrusts. Yahaba's moans were becoming almost sob-like which always happened when he was close to coming, and Kyoutani could feel a tight heat boiling up inside of him, ready to burst. He braced himself, hands down on the bed as his legs felt like they were going to give out.

A choked, broken cry left Yahaba's mouth just before he came, but what stunted Kyoutani was that the other man grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight as he came in spurts onto the bedsheets. The sex was not new. But _that_. _That_ was new.

He could only really think about it for a second though because he followed Yahaba close behind, hips stuttering and teeth clenching so that he didn't make any unwarranted embarrassing noises.

As the aftershocks finished up and Kyoutani pulled out of him carefully, the both relaxed onto the bed, damp with sweat and god knows what else.

"Y'always take such good care've me, Kyou-kun." Yahaba panted, shutting his eyes as though he wanted to fall asleep right there. "I never come like that with anyone else."

Kyoutani wanted to feel pride, to believe him, to make a cheeky or suggestive remark as a reply, but all he could think was— _that's right. I'm not the only one_.

He knew it was wrong, for him to be jealous over this kind of thing. This was Yahaba's job, his way of living. For Kyoutani to want him all to himself would be selfish.

_But he held **my** hand. Does he do that with anyone else?_

Yahaba sighed loudly, eyes still shut as he nestled himself deeper into the rumpled covers. It was the perfect opportunity to stare, to watch his bare chest rise and fall gently, observe the soft swoop of his nose and the delicate curl of his long, dark eyelashes. His hair was all mussed up and his cheeks were flushed pink, _and he had the most beautiful eyes too, if he would just open them_.

Yahaba opened them.

He stared back, eyes unreadable, and his forehead creased, ruining the previously relaxed expression. He sat up.

"I..." he pressed his lips together. "should get going."

He slipped out of bed and padded across the floor of the bedroom, beginning to locate his clothes that were strewn across the carpet.

It took Kyoutani a few seconds to find his voice, and when he did, it didn't even sound like his own.

"You could stay y'know...If you wanted."

Yahaba paused in the middle of putting his pants on and for a moment his expression softened before he looked away again, something raw and unspoken in his face.

"Kyoutani...you know I can't. I have other clients."

Face burning as both the rejection hit him and another wave of jealousy spiked through him, he nodded his head and pursed his lips.

 _Fuck_. How had he gotten into this mess?

Good things just didn't happen for people like Kyoutani Kentarou. He couldn't have the fortune of falling for someone he wasn't _paying_ to be with once a week.

He really really liked Yahaba, and yet the only thing the escort could give him was a kiss on the cheek and a regretful look on his way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just so you know. a few years down the line they do end up together after not seeing each other for about a year. they missed each other the whole time.


	3. Pets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3—Pets
> 
> Rating:G  
> Summary: A dog is washed. Sort of.

It was around 2pm on a Sunday afternoon when Yahaba got the call. He had originally planned to spend the day studying and finishing some bits of homework, but that was interrupted when his phone started to buzz from across the room.

Seeing Kyoutani's caller ID he answered the call immediately, subconsciously smiling as he spoke.

"This better be good. You're the only thing separating me from an afternoon reading Shakespeare in english."

"Hi to you too." Kyoutani's voice was gruff, sounding deeper than usual over the telephone line. There was a loud crash in the background, and Yahaba's brows furrowed, trying to distinguish the noise.

"What was that?"

"I uh..." Kyoutani's voice seemed distant, as though his mind was already occupied by something. "I have a situation I need help with."

This left Yahaba even more confused than before. "What do you mean? What _situation?_ "

Kyoutani just grumbled in irritation. "Will you just get down here?"

Yahaba had told himself when they started to date that it wouldn't make him go soft on the ace, and yet there he was, standing in front of Kyoutani's door with a nervous pulse and a thousand possibilities racing through his mind. When the door opened Yahaba immediately pushed by Kyoutani and marched into the otherwise empty apartment, kicking off his shoes.

"I'm here, so what's the big emergency?" he swung around to face Kyoutani only to stop in his track, expression pausing midway between surprise and confusion.

Kyoutani was sopping wet from head to toe and creating a small puddle beneath his socks.

"Why are you wet?"

Before Kyoutani could even speak, a large black creature covered in suds came bounding into the kitchen, and ambushing Yahaba knocking him to the floor with a panicked yelp.

"Baxter! Down!" Kyoutani ordered as the black Rottweiler nosed at Yahaba's clothes frantically, sniffing him curiously as Yahaba regained his sense of being.

"So _this_ is Baxter." he mused, not bothering to stand up just yet as two damp paws put their weight on his thighs. He raised a tentative hand to pet the wet dog, before pausing with it mid-air. "He won't bite, will he?"

"No, he's just hyper." Kyoutani said awkwardly, watching the exchange and unsure what to do because the dog wasn't obeying him.

Yahaba brought the hand down on the dog's head and Baxter tilted so he could sniff at the hand, finally decided that it was worthy to lick and making him grin. He scratched behind the Rottweiler's ear, observing the way his eyes went all squinty and how he stopped pawing at Yahaba's legs as much as he murmured a mantra of "what a good boy!" and "you're such a good little puppy."

When Baxter rested a head on his lap, Yahaba eventually looked up excitedly at Kyoutani, who was standing with his arms crossed and with an awful uncomfortable expression, hardening his features a great deal.

"He's so tame." Yahaba beamed, then leaning over to coo into the dog's ear. "Isn't that right? Such a good boy!"

Kyoutani cleared his throat awkwardly. "Yeah well, I'd like to see you say that when you're trying to give him a bath."

Yahaba quirked an eyebrows in amusement. "Is that why you're all wet?"

Kyoutani nodded. "I couldn't get him to calm down long enough to wash him. He kept jumping out."

Yahaba stood up slowly, giving the dog time to slide off his lap. "Well he seems pretty calm now, so let's give it another shot."

Kyoutani snorted. "You think you can do a better job than me?"

Yahaba narrowed his eyes and grinned. "I think you're acting like the situation is worse than it is."

As it turned out, the situation _was_ actually that bad.

Yahaba had thought Baxter was pretty calm after the serial-petting, but as he tried to lift him and plonk him into the bath the dog immediately began to kick and scrabble so that Yahaba was forced to drop him before he even got near the water. This led to the pair of them chasing him around the apartment and trying to haul him back to the bathroom every ten minutes.

"How did you even...get him wet?" Yahaba panted after the 7th escape.

"Three hours and like, four thousand bacon treats." Kyoutani grumbled. Yahaba did have to admit that seeing him this frazzled was kind of cute, especially when he wasn't the one who caused it. But it didn't really help that he was feeling just as frazzled.

"I swear to god, Kyoutani." his face was deadly serious. "I _will_ wrestle your dog into that water if I have to. My game face is officially _on_."

"Is it now?" Kyoutani snorted amusedly, shaking his head at Yahaba's answering pout.

"Absolutely."

In the end, it went like this:

Around roughly their 43rd attempt, they came up with the bright idea to each carry a separate end of the large dog so that he couldn't wiggle free. When the excited dog was dumped into pile of suds and water he began to thrash about, and Kyoutani had to strategically lay himself over the top of the bath to prevent him from escaping, getting even wetter in the process.

Baxter calmed down after a while, panting happily as he nosed around at the fluffiness of the suds and swished his paws around experimentally as if it was his first time in water. Kyoutani decided to remove himself, moving back from the bath, and thankfully, the dog stayed.

They both sank down against the edge of the bath, breathing loud sighs of relief.

"How often does he do this?"

"About once a week." Kyoutani sounded regretful. "He's been growing bigger, though."

Yahaba leaned his head back against the bath and turned to look at Kyoutani. His clothes were damp and he looked red and flustered to say the least. Yahaba grinned at the suds bubbles decorating his hair that he hadn't noticed yet.

"What?" Kyoutani frowned at his expression.

Yahaba didn't say a word, only leaned over to brush some of the bubbles out of his hair. Before he pulled his hand away he noticed that Kyoutani was staring at him with wide eyes, confused as to what he was doing. He realised then, that there wasn't much space between them, and that yes, he could actually kiss Kyoutani now if he wanted.

So he did.

Curling the hand in his hair slightly he leaned in slowly, keeping his eyes trained on the other boy the whole time. Kyoutani got the gist of what was happening pretty quickly and met him half way, lips meeting softly in the middle. This was only their second kiss and they were still shy, still so new at this and unsure of where their boundaries lay, but right now Yahaba just wanted to bask in the comfort and familiarity and the butterflies that riddled his stomach.

Kyoutani's hand came up to settle on his waist as their lips moved slowly against each other, and Yahaba hummed at the contact, starting to get into the rhythm of things.

There was loud splash from behind them, startling them and making them spring apart. Baxter was peering over the side of the bath, tail wagging happily and slapping the water with each wag. He was watching them and seemed to be saying ' _don't you have something to be getting back to?_ '

Kyoutani cleared his throat and scooted away to create some distance. His cheeks were pink. It was cute.

"Well, are you just gonna sit there and look pretty or are you gonna help with this?" he grunted, and Yahaba bit his lip in a smile, positively glowing inside.

He wondered if other people got to see how sappy Kyoutani could actually be when be wanted to.

If no one ever did, he wouldn't really mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr— gaifu  
> twitter— @prettysetter


	4. Team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4—Team
> 
> Rating:G  
> Summary: Kyoutani has a summer job and Yahaba attends a posh country club. They meet on a tennis court.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so the deal is, im going away until friday and i wont get a chance to write after that, so i'll only be posting up to chapter 5! sorry peeps!

It was a Sunday morning, and Kyoutani hated his job. He would have chosen literally any other place to work if this one didn't pay the most, and if he didn't really need the money. It was bad enough being kind of poor alone, but the fact that he had to watch a bunch of rich snooty pricks prance around all day too was just the icing on the cake.

He sometimes hated himself more than he hated his job.

The ball just about missed him as it whizzed past his head, almost clipping his ear before it bounced against the chainlink fence of the tennis court. He begrudgingly slipped off of his canvas chair and went to retrieve it, plucking a new ball out of the basket and throwing it back to the woman with tragic aim. He scowled when she didn't say thank you, just turned and continued to play. No one at this shitty country club ever did.

When the game ended, Kyoutani didn't hate his job any less. The group of snobby rich people went, and another one arrived. As far as tennis teams went, this match-up wasn't abnormal. There was one middle-aged man on either side (probably work colleagues, he guessed from experience), but on one team there was a young girl, and on the side closest to where he was sitting there was a boy around his age.

Kyoutani was an expert on figuring out the customers by now, and if he could guess anything it would be that the two men were trying to set their children up for business reasons. Just the thought made him feel sick.

"Ball!" the girl's dad called to him without any kind of courtesy, and Kyoutani grumbled to himself as he plucked one out of the basket and threw it to the old man, restraining himself from pelting it with full strength at his face.

It was clear that the ball wasn't going to go out of bounds any time soon as everyone playing was pretty good. Probably all raised in posh clubs like this, he guessed. He sat back down in his chair, observing the interactions of the people playing before him.

Every few serves the girl with long, blonde hair and a cute face would fumble her racket and miss a point, even though she was probably capable of rallying the ball for hours. The boy's dad seemed to be subtly letting the other man win, although to someone who saw this same kind of shit every day, it wasn't that subtle. The boy with light brown swoopy hair didn't seem too impressed every time the girl didn't run for his serve, and then called out "Nice point, Shigeru-kun!"

Kyoutani found his mind wandering to other things after not having to stand for a while. He needed to remember to pick up some milk on the way home, or his dad would get angry. Baxter needed a bath tonight too, because that goddamn animal could only last so long before making the whole apartment smell like a farm.

Before he could react, the ball came flying and pelted him right in the cheek, knocking him straight off his seat in surprise. Clutching his jaw in pain he struggled to come to grips with what had just happened. He had zoned out, and then...the blonde had served a ball straight to his face? His legs wobbled as he tried to stand up, and he probably wouldn't have managed it if a hand hadn't reached out to help him get some leverage.

When he looked up, eyes squinting and face hot with rage, the boy, or 'Shigeru' as he'd been called, was standing over him, looking at him with concerned eyes and a hand reaching out to him.

"Are you okay?" he sounded genuine, and Kyoutani realised that this may have been the first time any of the club members had ever addressed him when it wasn't tennis related.

He looked around and saw that the rest of the team players were either looking bored or impatient. He gritted his teeth and restrained himself from blowing over. It was still something he was working on in order to not lose his job. He dragged himself to his feet without the help of the prep in front of him.

Sure, he was attractive—pretty, even—but Kyoutani had no doubt that he used that as a way to dance through life and avoid responsibilities while he lived off of his fathers money and had a grand old time. Probably never even had a job.

"I'm fine." he grumbled, and a look of confusion, then irritation passed over the boy's face.

"Whatever." he muttered, clearly not used to not being treated like royalty. Well, there was no way Kyoutani was going to pamper him.

When doe-eyes joined the rest of the players on the court, the girl crowed about his "wonderful manners" although if she'd really cared, she would have come over to check up on him herself.

Kyoutani hated rich people.

The rest of the game was uneventful and painful to sit through. His eyes briefly met the other boy's as he turned to leave the court, sweat beading his temples and the swoop gone from his hair, and then he left.

 

 

* * *

 

 

"Ooh, someone got stuck with court duty." Watari grinned as Kyoutani trudged into the kitchen of the club's restaurant, where he also found himself working when he didn't get stuck with the worst of jobs.

"And on your birthday too." Hanamaki dodged another one of the bustling kitchen staff members so that he didn't lose the two platters dishes he was holding in both hands. "How tragic." then he disappeared out of the kitchen and into the dining area.

"Kyoutani it's your birthday?" Matsukawa appeared from around the counter with a knife in one hand and a half-chopped carrot in the orher.

"It's not my birthday." he grumbled, and Watari snickered, picking up a steaming pot of rice and whisking it away to the sink.

"I'm gonna go out back, it's too noisy in here." he said to no one in particular, and then made his way out the back door and into the alley around the side of the building. It was around time for his lunch break anyway, so no one would really miss him.

It was a little warmer than he liked it today and he was beginning to sweat in his ugly maroon polo when he took a seat on an old crate flipped upside down.

Finally, some peace and quiet.

When the sound off footsteps approaching echoed throughout the alleyway Kyoutani nearly flipped the crate. He stopped himself when he looked up and saw the same boy from the tennis match earlier looming over him. He felt his scowl deepening.

"Jesus, you look like you want me dead." he chuckled, before plonking himself on the crate next to Kyoutani's.

"Did I say you could sit there?" he growled.

"You didn't say anything." the asshole shrugged. "I'm beginning to think you're inarticulate."

Kyoutani wanted to respond with something witty, but he wasn't actually sure what that word meant, and he didn't want to dig himself in any deeper. Before he could think of a response, the boy rummaged into his coat pocket, and then slipped a cigarette into his mouth, lighting it up behind a cupped hand. When he noticed Kyoutani staring at him in surprise, he took the cigarette out of his mouth and held it towards him.

"Sorry, you want one?"

Kyoutani shook his head and the incredibly unpredictable stranger simply slipped it back into his mouth, exhaling deeply and then breathing smoke down into his own lap.

"I don't even like this shit." he laughed to himself, as if finding some great irony in it. "I'm only doing it so my dad'll smell the smoke and get pissed off. I'm Yahaba, by the way."

Kyoutani thought about what must have been the difference between Yahaba's dad angry, and his dad angry.

"Why the hell would you do that?"

Yahaba took another exhale of the cigarette, eyes watering but concealing it nicely with a fox-like grin.

"Teenage rebellion maybe? Who knows. You were at that match, you saw how obviously he's trying to set me up with his boss's daughter." He didn't seem to care about oversharing with a stranger. Perhaps he was only sharing with Kyoutani because their lives were completely separate, and Kyoutani had no chance of interfering with his.

He startled when Yahaba began to laugh, shoulders shaking and eyes beginning to water as he covered his mouth with the back of his hand.

" _What?_ " Kyoutani asked eloquently in utter confusion.

"He's so _eager_ , too. Thinks it'll win him some big promotion if I marry her and have seven kids and fuck a white picket fence." he sniffed and tilted his head so that he was looking directly at Kyoutani. "And here I am, like, the _gayest_ person you've ever fucking met."

Kyoutani didn't even remember asking this person's name, never mind his life story and all of his deepest darkest secrets, but Yahaba actually looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown and he didn't wanna get into that shit, and so he stayed silent.

"I just. Ugh, it makes me so _mad_ that you're the first person I've ever even told and you're like, a _ball boy_ or some shit."

"I'm a bus boy too." he replied quietly, for lack of better words.

Yahaba stared for a moment, before smiling again and dropping his cigarette to the ground, putting it out with his foot.

"Say, how would you feel about letting me kiss you real quick?"

Kyoutani stared at him blankly, wondering if he'd heard correctly. Surely that wasn't a thing that happened in real life.

"What." Always a poet, Kentarou.

"Well I figured since I told you I might as well get my first kiss with a guy out of the way too. It's not a big deal, is it?" he just looked so earnest, and god Kyoutani didn't understand rich people culture.

"Wh—how do you even know I'm not straight?"

Yahaba quirked an eyebrow. "Are you?"

He took Kyoutani's silence as a sort of answer and grinned like he thought he was the shit for guessing right.

Well. He refused to be flustered by this (not cute) rich boy.

"Fine." he said, expecting to catch Yahaba off guard and at least stun him for a moment or two, but instead he just received a grateful "cool" and then he was being reeled in by the collar.

Yahaba was warm and tasted a bit like smoke, but the scent of his tangy cologne (or maybe it was just downright perfume) almost overpowered it completely as their lips collided. Although he didn't want to admit it, this was his first kiss with a boy too, or with anyone really. It didn't last very long, maybe only 10 or 15 seconds if he had been counting instead of trying to clear his head of every dizzying thought that sprang to mind as Yahaba's hands cupped his jaw.

When the kiss broke Kyoutani opened his eyes straight away in fear of looking dumb, but Yahaba's stayed shut for a second longer, opening them slowly before looking at Kyoutani in disbelief.

"Holy shit." his voice was husky. "It's worse than I thought."

Kyoutani snorted, and Yahaba had the nerve to look a little sheepish when he smiled. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"Yeah." He mumbled, unsure how to really answer. He would say 'no problem', but now he found himself contemplating finding a reason for Yahaba to stay longer, and he decided that might classify as a problem.

Yahaba stood up then, dusting off the back of his pants, and then gave Kyoutani a look that said ' _this is awkward but I have to leave now_.'

"Anyway. I guess I'll see you around, Kyoutani." and with that he turned to leave, leaving Kyoutani to wonder when he had introduced himself using his name.

It took him approximately 4 seconds to remember he was wearing a name tag, another 15 to remember he had a job to get to, and 50 more for Watari to ask if he'd taken up smoking.

It was true that Kyoutani hated his job, but he didn't hate it quite so much on the days Yahaba showed up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does this make any sense with the prompt? absolutely not. i was thinking like...tennis team? idek


	5. Crossover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 5—Crossover/AU
> 
> Rating:G  
> Summary: A steven universe/gems AU  
> Warning: character death (kind of? i guess it counts?)(not main characters)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is. my pride and joy of kyouhaba week

" _Oikawa don't!_ "

Yahaba watched in horror as their leader dived in front of their second in command, guarding Iwaizumi against an attack before their own Turquoise gem clattered to the ground, rendering the army silent.

Homeworld around them seemed to stop turning as Iwaizumi stumbled over to the gem, slowly picking it up with a dazed look on his face, and when it glinted in the daylight everyone could see as clear as day, the large splintered crack that ran through it. The entire small army stood still, staring in a horrified silence until Kindaichi was the first to break it, a shocked sob breaking out of him.

Yahaba gripped his sword tighter, clenching his teeth in a weak attempt not to let it get to him until the battle was over. Oikawa had been foolish, sacrificing themself to save the one they loved, but the war wasn't over yet.

The fight continued as Matsukawa ushered Iwaizumi out of the line of fire before it was too late, all the while the Aquamarine gem was muttering a mantra of " _we shouldn't have unfused, this wouldn't have happened, I shouldn't have let them unfuse with me_ " and clutching the Turquoise gem with all his might.

Hanamaki stepped out in front of the army, and even though he shook he still spoke with authority.

"Gems, tonight we avenge our captain!"

A roar of determination ripped out from their squad as they rushed forward and began to fight with all their might. The other army's technology seemed much more advanced as they used machinery and robotic suits with lasers, awfully mismatched against their own handheld weapons.

Yahaba was able to shield his own Topaz gem from direct hits using his sword, but they were losing fast and hard, more and more gems retreating to their natural states by the minute. When Yahaba looked to the right Kyoutani seemed to be having a hard time protecting himself with just metal-gloved fists, as he couldn't play offence and defence at the same time. Iwaizumi had been rendered immobile, the devastating trauma of losing the gem he had been fusing with for thousands of years making him unable to fight. Yahaba didn't want to lose someone else.

"Kyoutani!" Yahaba called, guarding himself from another hit as he ducked over beside the struggling gem. "You have to fuse with me!"

"What? No way!" Kyoutani hissed, losing focus and just about dodging another hit, a bit of his arm hair singing off.

"You want your gem to shatter, idiot?" Kyoutani didn't reply. "Well _neither do I!_ So fuse with me!"

Kyoutani gave him a reluctant look before grumbling "Only to save my own ass."

Watari must have realised what they were doing because the shorter gem rushed over to their aid, defending them as they dropped their guard to fuse. Their fusion sequence was rusty and slightly uncoordinated, but that was expected as they had never fused before, despite how long they had been fighting alongside each other. Kyoutani's way of dancing was different than Yahaba expected it to be. He himself opted with ballet as he found it helped with self control (and it made him feel pretty and graceful) but it seemed that Kyoutani fused by passionate contemporary, movements uncontrolled and flowing red hot like lava to match his Tiger's Eye gem.

Yahaba had forgotten what it felt like to fuse with someone. When they collided a great warmth spread over him, not so much comforting as it felt fiery hot.

Fire Opal clenched his fists, a sort of fierce determination seeping all throughout his body, noticing the new sensation of having 4 arms and 3 eyes and being like 10 feet tall and best of all, swinging around a giant fucking hammer that was like half the size of his body. God, it was great to be here.

"Woah, that's awesome!" Watari cried from below, and Fire Opal grinned proudly.

"Just wait 'til you see what I can do, little man."

With that he leaped up with lightning speed, grabbing one of the laser pointers and bending it backwards so that if it tried to shoot it would be aiming right into the mechanical suit's ugly robotic face. He felt so strong and so powerful and so whole, and honestly he didn't want it to end.

It did end, though. Eventually the battled fizzled out with no definite winner. They still had a lot of non-fatal casualties (bar one) on their side, but thanks to Fire Opal's addition of strength and agility, so did the other army.

As he collected injured gems up off the ground with the rest of the remaining army, Kunimi paused by him, hauling a staggering Kindaichi over his shoulder.

"You two can unfuse now, you know. The fight's over."

Without waiting for a reply he went on, which was good because Fire Opal was lost for words. He had completely forgotten he had to unfuse at all, and thinking about it gave him a gloomy feeling right in his core.

 _Let's not, I feel so strong like this_.

_But what will people think?_

_Wow, who knew you cared about what people thought, tough guy?_

_Shut up dickhead—_

_**You** shut up—_

Yahaba immediately felt a wave of cold rush over him as the fusion wobbled and they separated forcefully, throwing them both to the ground and winding him terribly.

They stared at each other for a while, Yahaba trying to organise his thoughts and get used to having his own thoughts to himself again.

"I uh..." Kyoutani got to his feet, refusing to meet Yahaba's eyes. Did he maybe feel as much at a loss as Yahaba did? "We should get back with the rest."

Yahaba nodded, gathering himself and standing up. His legs were slightly wobbly but that was expected. He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to see Kyoutani the same way ever again. After all, they'd been a part of one entity for almost 2 hours now, something a lot of gems wouldn't even be able to achieve on their first go.

Yahaba found it difficult to relax after that. Despite not needing any sleep as it was a human concept, he sometimes decided to take a nap after big events, when he just wanted his mind to be blank without any racing thoughts. And for the first time in centuries, he couldn't sleep. He had so many mixed emotions, what with the devastating destruction of their leader's gem and everything. _Iwaizumi must be in pieces_ , was a reoccurring thought. _Bad word choice_.

Despite that, a part of him still felt adrenaline-pumped and overwhelmed about their fusion. What he and Kyoutani had pulled off together was amazing. Yahaba had been so mediocre all his life, always never living up to standards and hiding in the shadows of other gems that shone like the sun—but today, today he had been powerful and unstoppable and everything he wasn't himself.

He'd give anything to feel that way again, but—

That was frowned upon, wasn't it?

It was no secret that a lot of gems on Homeworld looked down upon those who fused for non-fighting purposes, and those who did were considered outcasts.

Yahaba got out of bed and slipped his boots on. Perhaps a walk would do the trick.

 

Nestling himself in a bed of red sand he leaned against a broken pillar, the shattered remain of an old building from millennia ago, and listened to the gentle swashing of the ocean. The beach was usually deserted at this time of night and on the rare occasions he needed time to himself, Yahaba would sometimes come here.

After just a few moments of having said time to himself, he was surprised to hear sand crunching from behind the pillar. As he peaked his head around, Kyoutani stood glaring at him, hands clenched at his side. He looked tired, but Yahaba was unfazed.

"Can I help you?"

Kyoutani continued to glower, looking at a loss for what to say, so Yahaba sighed and scooted over in the sad, patting the space beside him for Kyoutani to sit. The other gem obeyed silently, and Yahaba leaned his head back to rest against the pillar.

"Couldn't rest?"

Kyoutani shook his head. "Can't stop thinking about..." he trailed off, yet his voice told Yahaba everything.

"It's tragic, I know. They shouldn't have unfused during battle, even for a second. They weren't used to fighting individually."

"But now Oikawa's gone." Kyoutani growled, grabbing fistfuls of red sand and dropping them again. "Their gem is completely shattered—they can't even create another physical form. _Fuck_."

"Hey—" Yahaba reached out and grabbed Kyoutani's fidgeting hand to still him, alarmed at how worked up he was getting. Sure enough the Tiger's Eye gem fell silent, not shaking off Yahaba's hand. Yahaba could feel the smooth outline of his gem on the inside of his palm and ran his fingers over it to sooth him.

"It's not anyone's fault. There was nothing we could do; it was either them or Iwaizumi. Either way it was a fatal blow. Now we can only fight to avenge them."

Kyoutani was silent, and Yahaba still needed to say something.

"Kyoutani. About earlier. I'm sorry for not wanting to unfuse. It was really outta line. Especially under the...circumstances."

He continued to speak, refusing to turn his head to look at the other gem.

"But you must know what it's like too, right? We were so _strong_ together. I mean maybe you're used to that, but I'm certainly not."

"What are you talking about?" Kyoutani finally spoke and Yahaba turned to face him, fingers still over his gem. "I thought you knew you were strong."

Yahaba was stunned to say the least.

"C'mon, Kyou. We both know that's not true."

Kyoutani looked away and then pulled his hand away from Yahaba's to fold his arms.

"Maybe not physically, but you're good at like. Strategy and shit. The only reason we were so powerful together is because you're smart."

Yahaba continued to stare at the mildly uncomfortable look on his face, not knowing quite what to say.

"Do you...Kyoutani what would you think about...about fusing again?" he winced when the other gem snapped his head around to stare at him.

"You mean outside of battle?"

Yahaba nodded his head, but quickly jumped to his defence. "Not for long, or anything. It's just—it felt good, didn't it? Like it was right? You can't say you didn't feel that too!"

Kyoutani's face looked blank but Yahaba hoped that he was thinking it over. Then he spoke.

"But you know what people think—"

"No one has to know!" he reasoned. "And besides, who cares what they think! C'mon, just for a little bit."

Kyoutani's amber eyes ran over the look of plea on his face, and then he reluctantly nodded his head.

"Okay. Let's do it."

Yahaba stared in disbelief for a moment because Kyoutani actually agreed? Then his face split into an excited grin as he hopped to his feet in the sand, grabbing the other gem and pulling him up with him. Kyoutani stumbled a bit into him at the force and once he corrected himself he looked a bit sheepish.

"Should we..."

"Yes! yep." Yahaba was suddenly nervous now and he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because the atmosphere was a lot quieter now. At least before they had been in the middle of a battle field. Now it was just the two of them standing in front of each other in the dead silence illuminated by the crystal lights of the silent city not too far away. This was strangely more intimate than before, and Yahaba didn't know how he felt about that.

He broke the ice by extending one leg and beginning his dance sequence. Kyoutani quickly followed his actions, although his moves were a lot more tame now, as though the mute atmosphere had drenched the raging fire inside of him.

When they fused again this time the heat that spread over Yahaba was one of warmth and comfort.

Fire Opal had nothing to be excited about, but he was excited. He was just so _happy_ to be here that he wanted to run and jump and shout at the top of his lungs.

And so he did. (Bar the shouting, because he didn't want to wake the whole planet up. He limited himself to mild whooping.)

He ran and twirled and bounded along the sand until he exhausted himself, and then he collapsed behind the old pillar, feeling much better after releasing all that energy. His panting breaths turned into quiet laughter as he grinned to himself.

He wished he could stay here forever, but he knew that Kyoutani and Yahaba would probably get into trouble if the wrong people discovered what they'd done. He understood though, that they shared a bond now that they couldn't go back on.

"Yahaba is that y—"

Fire Opal snapped his head around to see Watari peering out from around the pillar, mouth round and eyes wide in surprise.

"Oh I'm sorry—"

Their fusion faltered and the two fell with a thud onto the sand. Watari continued to stare at them before he pursed his lips and a blush creeped onto his face. They both scrambled to their feet, Yahaba clearing his throat awkwardly.

"I didn't mean to interrupt anything, you guys." Watari glanced between them, and Yahaba jumped to defence.

"N-no, it's not what you think! We...uh...heard a loud noise, so we thought it'd be safer...to fuse..." he winced at how awkward and forced it sounded.

Kyoutani shook his head and began to stomp away, moving slowly in the sand.

"I—you know I wouldn't say anything, don't you?" Watari garbled as Yahaba raised a hand to him in process. Yahaba bit his lip and cast him a glance that said ' _we'll talk later_.' Then he ran after the other gem.

"Kyou!" His breath was laboured after running a distance in the sand. "Wait for a second!"

"What." Kyoutani swung around to bark at him. His face was red and he looked distraught to say the least.

"Watari won't say anything, you don't need to be so—"

"What are we doing?"

Yahaba snapped his mouth shut. "Hm?'

"We've never been close enough to want to fuse. In fact, I though you hated me until just a few decades ago. And now you're begging me to fuse with you? I don't get you."

Yahaba wanted to tell him why, but the truth was he wasn't even sure himself. The vulnerability in his voice was enough to make his chest tighten, though.

"I don't know." he said honestly. "It just felt natural, alright? Like it was fate or something, for us to fuse. Didn't it feel like that for you too?"

Kyoutani averted his eyes so Yahaba reached out and took both of his hands, surprising him enough that his head snapped up and their eyes met again. Yahaba wasn't sure what he was doing, but his palms felt like they were glowing.

"Maybe it did." Kyoutani mumbled, skin feeling abnormally hot.

Yahaba smiled, and following natural instinct, lifted Kyoutani's palm and pressed a kiss to his Tiger's Eye gem, followed by a kiss to his cheek. He didn't even realise they were fusing again until he saw a bright light cloud his vision.

Fire Opal walked calmly back over to the crumbling pillar and to where Watari was standing, despite the fact that he was actually bursting with energy inside at their newfound settlement. The smaller gem was staring up at him in awe. Watari gulped.

"You're..." he shook his head. "so _cool!_ " Then he grinned. "You're so much more badass like this!"

"You know it." Fire Opal grinned and mock-bowed valiantly. "Listen...whatever happens to Yahaba and Kyoutani after this...I think I'd really appreciate if you didn't speak of this to anyone else."

Watari nodded almost immediately. "Of course. I have nothing against it, y'know. But...what are you gonna do now?"

He thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged. "I guess I'll travel around for a while, see where the wind takes me. Spend some time figuring myself out, y'know?"

Watari smiled shakily. "I hope it goes well then."

Fire Opal grinned, and then flexed one muscly arm. "Have you seen these guns? Of course things'll go well!"

He understood that he couldn't stay fused forever. The times weren't there yet. But as long as he could be himself for just a little while, travel and discover new planets and civilisations, then he was okay with leaving.

He'd come back eventually, be it as two gems or one.

He felt a warm glow on both the Tiger's Eye gem on his palm, and the Topaz one on his chest.

Yahaba and Kyoutani were happy.


End file.
